IMAGE MAKER

Impressionismexpress a personal reaction to subject matter in a dreamy or painterlyway.One can explore the non-literal world of photography in bothsubtle and not so subtle ways.Andre captures the essence of this style best when he writes in hislatest book (Expressionism) that “Expressive photography is aboutfeeling images rather than seeing them. It’s about using photography toheal wounds or share happiness. It’s about tripping a shutter and beingtransformed, taking a photograph and feeding creativity. Expressiveimages touch you, stir something inside of you. These photos mayremind you of someone close to you or bring back memories thatseemed forgotten.”By stepping into the world of photo impressionism, I havechallenged myself to become more creative, to try and “see” images indifferent ways and to find ways of interpreting subject matter by usingthe techniques that Andre and Freeman are so adept at. For me this isa challenging journey, but one that I am enjoying immensely!To learn more about photo impressionism have a look at thefollowing books:•Photo Impressionism And The Subjective ImageFreeman Patterson and Andre Gallant, 2001•DreamscapesExploring Photo MontagesAndre Gallant, 2004•ExpressionismDigital Dreamscapes and Other TechniquesAndre Gallant, 2010Garden LadyTechnique: Moonlight DreamscapeAnd on the Web:•Impressionistic Photos - Garry Black Photography•William Neill Photographyebook: “Impressions of Light•Mark S. Johnson Photographyebook: “Luminescent World”•Nikhil Bahl PhotographyThe GalleriesThe images that I’m sharing with you are a few of my attempts atImpressionism. I have included samples of some of the techniquesthat Freeman and Andre discuss in the St. Martins workshop andoutline in their books. They are by no means perfect examples of thetechniques, but are part of my journey to learn how to create imagesthat are more expressive or painterly.Caveat: Impressionistic photography is not for everyone! If youdelve into this genre be prepared for viewers who don’t like the imagesand certainly don’t get your artistic interpretation of the subject.You need to be prepared for comments that range from, “It’s notthat sharp”, to “What the heck is that anyway?” or “That’s just blurry”and finally, “So you take a bad picture and call it art!My response is “Not allblurry images are created equal!”Coriolis: Technique: Zooming with RotationChanges:Technique:MultipleExposures (10)Rose Bud:Technique: PanningSackville Photography Club 21